This work was made in 2006. During that year it was hard not to find an abandoned and burned out car in the Dublin mountains on almost any given day. The practise of ‘Joy Riding’ is of North American origin and became popular as a term in Britain and Ireland in the early 1910s. It was defined as ‘to ride at high speed’ and initially applied to all those who took their cars out for recreational drives. It was later used negatively to describe car owners who took non-essential rides at the time of petrol shortages during World War One. By the end of 1930, the Garda announced that an average of three cars a day were being stolen by joy riders in Dublin city. The vast majority of which were found abandoned and undamaged twenty four hours later. Often they were found within a few miles of the city, having been driven until the petrol supply is exhausted.

Facts on joyriding today seem to point to a decrease since this project was made. Today cars are stolen and Gardaí are thwarted by the people who often drive down a road on the opposite side to lose the chase. It is an extremely dangerous crime and has often led to deaths. Ultimately it is here to stay.